Last Friday, Fairfax officially approved a new headquarters tower for Capital One in Tysons Corner. At 470 feet tall the new building will be the tallest in the DC region after the Washington Monument.

If that news sounds familiar, it’s because in May of 2013 developers proposed a 435 foot tall building, then the tallest in the region yet. And when Alexandria approved a 396 foot tall tower, that also would’ve been the tallest. Meanwhile, Arlington’s 384 foot tall 1812 North Moore tower recently finished construction, officially taking over the title of region’s tallest skyscraper (for now).

There may not be an explicit competition, but the fact is undeniable: Northern Virginia’s in a full-on skyscraper rivalry. And Tysons is pulling insurmountably ahead.

At 470 feet tall, this new Tysons building will be the first in the DC region to officially eclipse Richmond’s tallest, the 449 foot tall Monroe Building. Baltimore and Virginia Beach each have towers above 500 feet, often considered to be the breaking point for a true skyscraper.

What I do like about the D.C. metro are the many nodes of downtowns. Some, fairly large relative to their size. Its interesting to use the 45 degree birds eye view on Bing Maps and look at the density of some nodes. Silver Springs, Bethesda, and Alexandria West come to mind. The D.C. metro is littered in highrises actually. It might not be a skyscraper city, but it does have many high rises.

Fairfax approves Capital One HQ nearly as tall as the Washington Monument

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In the fall of 2012 Capital One received approval to build a new headquarters on its Tysons Corner campus, on the doorstep of one of the new Silver Line stations. It was one of the first companies to get a project approved under Fairfax County’s plan for a new, urban Tysons.

Then the financial giant decided the building it had designed wasn’t big enough.

So Capital One, led by chairman, president and chief executive Richard D. Fairbank, drew up the tallest commercial building in the Washington area. At 470 feet, it would be the second tallest structure in the area, behind only the Washington Monument (555 feet).

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the project Tuesday evening, with minimal fanfare.

The originally approved plan for the company’s 26-acre campus was no small endeavor. It included 3.1 million square feet of office space, four high-rise residential buildings with as many as 1,200 units and 100,000 square feet of restaurants and retail.

The centerpiece was a 520,000-square-foot corporate headquarters building that would add to the company’s existing 14-story, 480,000-square foot headquarters on Capital One Drive.

Construction officially began Monday on the first of a dozen planned high-rises in Tysons Corner - a project that officials say will boost the region's economy and help transform this corner of Fairfax County.

Ground was broken for Capital One bank's planned 470-foot-high tower -- the first structure that will go up on the 26-acre parcel, a stone's throw from Metro's new McLean Silver Line station. The tower will be erected next to Capital One's headquarters building.

"This building is going to be the second tallest building next to the Washington Monument in the whole region," says Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.

Warner, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and other leaders plunged silver-colored spades into clay dirt to mark the ceremonial start of construction of the 31-story bank tower.

McAuliffe foresees the development having a dramatic impact on the state's economy.

"This is magnificent, the new jobs that will be created, the new economic activity...this is going to transform the entire Tyson's community," McAullife says.

Wegmans, the New York state-based grocer with the cult-like following, plans to open another D.C.-area store, this one in Tysons Corner, in 2019.

The retailer has a preliminary agreement to open an approximately 80,000-square-foot store in a yet-to-be-built building on the Capital One campus at Route 123 and the Capital Beltway, a Capital One spokeswoman confirmed.

The Washington Post first reported the deal.

The store will be smaller than typical suburban Wegmans stores, which average between 110,000 and 140,000 square feet. The Tysons Wegmans will be closer to the newer, urban model the chain has rolled out in two locations so far, one in its hometown of Rochester, New York, and another outside of Boston.